But, former Cardiff wing Graham Hale, who died on Monday, January 8, outpassed that as he lived to be 97 years and 11 months.
Hale will not be found among the official list of Wales players, but in 2013 the Welsh Rugby Union had awarded him a Presidents Cap in recognition of his appearance on the wing for Wales against the New Zealand ‘Kiwis’ in 1946.
He was born in Cardiff during February 1920 and played his early rugby with Cardiff High School, then on the city’s Newport Road, and on leaving school he appeared for the Cardiff High School Old Boys side on the Harlequins Ground, just further down the road.
Hale joined Cardiff and made his debut in 1938-39 with war already looming. However, Cardiff had been invited to play in the Middlesex Sevens on April 22, 1939 and skipper Wilf Wooller took seven other players with him to Twickenham, though only Wooller (for Sale) had ever played in a seven-a-side match.
Hale said: “We won our semi-final and we sat in the grandstand to watch London Scottish win the second semi. Wilf sat next to me and said: ‘We must stop this blighter Logie Bruce-Lockhart running and we can win the final.’ And so we did, winning by 11-6. We hurriedly raced to Paddington to get on the train to Cardiff, but there was no Cup and no Wilf. Then, as the train started we saw Wilf hugging the cup and loping down the platform to jump into our carriage.
“We got to Cardiff and went straight to the clubhouse, which was shut. Nobody had expected us to win, but very soon Wilf had the club open and we were able to toast our success – never again achieved by a club from South Wales. The Cup was at that time called The Kinross-Arber Trophy.”
Hale managed a try in the final and astonishingly dropped a goal in an earlier round, which was then worth four points.
War then broke out and he joined up in the Welsh Guards but was taken prisoner by Rommel and Co at Benghazzi in North Africa.
As with other POW’s, Hale reckoned that Rommel saved their lives by refusing orders to shoot the prisoners, instead turning them over to Italian troops who took them back to Southern Italy and did not treat them particularly well.
He was ill though and was among a band who were released to Britain. He said, “I remember we even sailed up the Bristol Channel to Cardiff.”
However, Hale was a fighter and as his strength came back he played again for Cardiff and in March 1945 scored two tries in Cardiff’s 22-11 win over a New Zealand Services side.
His form was returning and he forced his way into a Services International for Wales on the left wing against France at Swansea on December 22, 1945 with Wales winning 8-0 thanks to two tries created by his left centre Bleddyn Williams, one scored by Dr Jack Matthews and one by a forward Selby Davies with a Maldwyn James conversion.
Four days later on Boxing Day came one of the greatest games of the 2nd NZEF (‘Kiwis’) tour as they edged out Cardiff by 3-0 (a Jack Kearney try) at Cardiff Arms Park.
Only 10 days later Hale was in the Wales team to meet the ‘Kiwis’ again at the Arms park. However, the New Zealanders won by 11-3 with just one try resulting.
Hale played until the end of the 1946-47 season, but then retired, having lost his best years to war.
He lived in the Lisvane area of Cardiff until recent years and died at the Ty Coch Nursing Home in Llanishen. His sons Jonathan and Richard and daughter Elizabeth were at his side when he died.
He had been the last survivor of the 30 players of Wales-Kiwis and the oldest living Cardiff player.
